Project 1.1 Protein biosynthetic pathway targeting for PET imaging
Radiolabelled amino acids are useful for studying protein biosynthetic pathways and may be able to shed light on disease mechanisms not accessible by other means. Compared with normal cells, tumour cells have an increased capacity for taking up amino acids, making radiolabelled amino acids more sensitive as tumour indicators than FDG. Some of these amino acids are not incorporated into proteins or degraded by the tumour cell, so they accumulate, thereby aiding detection.
In a previous collaboration, the Centre for Molecular Imaging (CMI) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Cyclotek and ANSTO's Radiopharmaceuticals Research Institute developed novel methods for synthesising and purifying radiolabelled amino acids. The most promising of these compounds is O-(2-fluoroethyl-18)-L-tyrosine (FET).
CRCBID participants are further evaluating FET in small animal models for brain tumours. This work has been followed by trials in human subjects.
Other potentially useful amino acids are being synthesised and labelled with Fluorine-18. CRCBID participants are assessing these candidates for chemical and biological stability, effectiveness as PET imaging markers, and usefulness in diagnosing or treating cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
